An exercise ball is typically a large, spherical, resilient ball that can be used for a variety of exercises. These balls are also commonly referred to as a “Swiss ball”, “Swiss exercise ball”, “stability ball” or a “Pilates ball.” Exercise balls have been used for a broad range of purposes ranging from therapeutic exercises to uses in exercises intended to develop a user's flexibility, balance and strength, including the strength of the user's stabilizer muscles. Exercise balls are typically used on the surface of a floor, whereby the user may rest a portion of their body upon the ball, thereby adding an element of instability during the exercise between the user and the floor. This instability would not normally be experienced by a user with the associated exercise in the absence of the ball. The main cause of this instability is that the ball is not secured in any manner, other than by the weight of the user. Consequently, the ball is free to travel in any two dimensional direction by means of rotation across the horizontal plane created by the underlying floor. Thus the typical exercise ball tends to roll away easily. Thus, the user is very likely to accidentally slip off the ball during use thereby increasing the probability of injury to the user.
The inherent characteristics of exercise balls have led to the recognition of numerous therapeutic uses for them. Due in part to these uses and characteristics, exercise balls have been incorporated into a number of exercise devices and other articles.